The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-12-14

the poereSe room in your house Tor the nneS
heaven that Huxley, or Stuart Mill, or Dar-
win ever dreamed of. Their heaven has no
Christ in it: and heaven without Christ,
though YOU could sweep the whole universe
into it, would be hell. Oh. they tell us
there are no songs there; there are no
coronations in heaven-that is all lm-
agination. They tell us We will do
there about what we do here, only
on larger scale--geon1etrize with
clearer intellect, and with alpanstoct
go clambcring up over the icebergss
in an eternal vacation. Rather than that, l
turn to my Bible, and find Johns picture
of that good land-that heaven which was
your lullaby in infancy-that heaven which
our children in the Sabbath school will sing
about this afternoon-that heaven which has
"well at the gate
After you have been on long journey,
aud you come in, all bedusted and tired, to
your home. the first thing you want is re-
/, freshine ablution, and l am glad to know
that after we get through tho pilgrim
age of this world-the harl dusty pill.
grimage-we will find n we'll ut
the gate. In that one wash. away
will 20 our sins and sorrows. | do not
care whether cherub or seraph. or my own
departed friends in that blessed land place
to my lips the cup, the touch Of that cup
will be life, will be heaven? l was read
|
fountain of perpetual youth: They thought
if they could only find and drink out of that
we'll, the old would become young again. the
sick would be cured, and everybody would
have eternal juvenescence. OF course, they
could not find it. Eureka! have found it!
1.-THE water Of the well of Bethlehem, which
is by the gate"
think we had better make bargain with
those who leave us, going out Of this world
from time to time, as to where we will meet
them: Travellers parting appoint place OF
meeting. They say, 1--WE will meet at
Rome, or we will meet at Stock
holm. or Vienna, or Jerusalem, or Bethle,,
by the death.pillow of those who are
leaving us for the far land, do not let us weep
as though we would never see them again,
but let us, there standing appoint a place
where we will meet. Where shall it be! Shall
it be on the banks of the riverl No. The
banks are too long: Shall it be in the
templei No; no. There is such host
there-ten thousand times ten thousand.
Where shall we meet the loved ones' Let us
make an appointment to meet at the we'll by
the gate. Oh, heaven! Sweet heaven! Dear
heaVenl Heaven, where our good friends
arel Heaven, where Jesus is! Heaven!
Heaven!
But while stand here there comes revul-
sion of feeling when l look into your eyes and
know there are souls here dying of thirst,
notwithstanding the we'll at the gate. Be-
tween them and the we'll Of heaven there is a
great army Of sin; and though Christ is
ready to clear way to that well for them
they will not have his love or intercession.
But am glad to know that you may come
vet. The well is here-5he we'll of heaven.
Come: do not care how feeble you are. Let
to the well-curb. "Ho, every one that
thirsteth, come" would rather win one soul
to Christ this morning than wear the crown
Of the worlds dominion. Do not let any
man go away and say did not invite him.
Oh, if you could only just look at my Lord
once: if you could justsee him full in the face:
ay, if you could only do as that woman did
whom read about at the beginning of the
serviceS-just come up beAind him and
touch his feet-methnks you would live. In
Northern New Jersey, one winter, three lit
tie children wandered off from home in a
snow storm. Night came on. Father and
mother said, 'Where are the children!" They
could not be found. They started out in
haste, and the news ran to the neigh
bors, and before morning it was said that
there were hundreds Of men hunting the
mountains for those three children, but
found them not. After while man imagined
there was place that had not been looked at,
and he went and saw the three children. He
examined their bodies. He found that the
older boy had taken off his coat
and wrapped it around the younger one, the
baby, and then taken off his vest and put it
around the other one; and there they oil
died, he probably the first, for he had no coat
or vest. Oh, it was a touching scene when that
was brought to light! l was on the ground
a little while after, and it brought the
whole scene to my mind, and 1 thought to
myself of more melting scene than that:
when Jesus, our elder brother, took off the
robe of his royalty and laid aside the last
garment Of earthly comfort, that he might
wrap our poor souls from the blast. Oh, tho
height, and the depth, and the length, and
the breadth Of the love Of Christi